Spring trends to create your best outdoor living space

One of the trends that took off during the COVID-19 pandemic that’s remained a current trend years later is a useful outdoor living space. Many people now look to their backyard as additional space for work, dining, and relaxation that also reflects their personalities. This year, investing in creating an enviable space outside will continue to be a preferred project for many homeowners. Here are some of the biggest trends for creating an immaculate outdoor space this spring. 

Thanks to Raleigh’s mild climate, creating an outdoor space that can be used throughout the year is very doable with a little bit of investment. Firepits, fire tables, and heat lamps are great for providing warmth on chilly nights. Umbrellas, misting systems, and shade sails can be extremely useful for shading patios during the sweltering heat of summer.  Additional light fixtures are also a necessity to continue the use of your back yard during the winter, when the sun sets very early in the evening.

Outdoor spaces have become a natural extension of the home’s interior. Today’s open-air “rooms,” such as outdoor living rooms, helps families utilize a more seamless transition from the indoors out and vice versa. Outdoor kitchens are also skyrocketing in popularity, as it provides additional space for cooking and dining. Some homeowners are even requesting spa-like exteriors with showers, saunas, and workout spaces.

The recent trend in patio design, especially furniture, is to create spaces that look like they could be either on the inside or outside of the home. Designers are taking pieces typically found inside the home and making them with weatherproof material so that they do not need to be covered. Create a cozy feel by adding some accessories, such as throw blankets, pillows, ottomans, outdoor rugs, and more.

More homeowners are choosing their greenery based on what they want their home to portray. Some select vegetables, fruits, and herbs over decorative flowers. Others create art within their landscaping. To match the elaborate exterior trends of the year, expect items like obelisks and trellises to be popular in the outdoor living space. Container gardens are growing in popularity, as are native plants in the form of “chaos gardens.” This year, people have more time and ideas to determine what they want from their gardens.

Today’s back yards are offering a mix of modern technology while also considering sustainability as a need. On the sustainability side, natural materials are on-trend this year in the outdoor living space. Some of the more popular materials include a mixture of stone, reclaimed wood, teak and wicker, which are also durable and low maintenance. And new smart technology is helping automate the outdoors, ensuring things like lighting and heating options keep the home eco-friendly.

As people continue to use their backyards for work, exercise, and play, many are looking to create more privacy in their backyards. Ways homeowners are exploring to do this include landscaping design (including shrubs and trees), fencing, gazebos, and covered patios. More homeowners are adding retractable screens to their yards to provide more fluid boundaries between the inside and outside while protecting privacy.

As homeowners continue to create a truly functional home with space for everything from work to leisure, their attention as the temperatures rise will turn towards creating comfortable and useful spaces in both the front and backyard. Overall, the yard is becoming more of an extension of the home than it has been in previous years, which is driving many of the design trends in 2025. How will you enjoy your outdoor living space this year?